Tuesday February 1, 2022. The town faces several state investigations, and has brought in outside help to rebuild the department. In Brookside, complaints about retaliation have come time and time again, as in the case of Rev. Read more stories from our Banking on Crime series: If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, and GOP Lt. Gov. (Joe Songer for AL.com).Joe Songer. The news outlet found that Jones positioned officers to stop motorists so aggressively that income from traffic fines and forfeitures rose 640 percent from 2018 to 2020, from about $82,000 to more than $610,000. He resigned Jan. 25, six days after AL.com detailed how the department preyed on drivers, and came to use fines and forfeitures to supply half the tiny towns income. Yet the town with no traffic lights collected $487 in fines and forfeitures in 2020 for every man, woman and child, though many of those fined were merely passing by on I-22. I feel like they cant claim innocence in this situation., They saw dollar signs, she said of the mayors and the council. 2023 County Office. Hudgens told Jones about the call and gave him the mans contact information. A 2019 report in Governing magazine found that fines and forfeitures account for more than 10 percent of general fund revenues for nearly 600 jurisdictions throughout the country, and in jurisdictions where fines accounted for more than 20 percent, the local median household income was less than $40,000. The Brookside Police Department is located on Municipal Drive, and the Chief of Police is Jason Springfield. Brookside Police Department of Brookside, AL spotted in the Jefferson County Sheriff Department District at Roberta Road and Cherry Avenue., And in July, Brookside Police Department of Brookside, AL operating outside its city limits. soon after reports of the small towns aggressive policing, AL.com detailed how the department preyed on drivers. He was cited for driving with a suspended license a matter he thought hed cleared up but he doesnt blame Brookside for that. originally filed on behalf of Cory Thomas, AL.com in January reported how Brookside used fines and forfeitures, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. So it was a bit of a moral outrage because I had sat in court three times now and it was no longer a mistake., This was an intentional policy of the city and my niece just happened to get caught up in it and happened to challenge it. More than half the Brookside officers resigned or were fired this year as more and more people came forward to tell their stories about mistreatment in Brookside. Netta Womack tells her story about Brookside police at a town hall Tuesday February 1, 2022. BROOKSIDE, Ala. After a tumultuous few weeks for the city of Brookside, including the resignation of police Chief Mike Jones, more allegations were brought to light against the city's police department on Thursday. The issue gained prominence in the wake of the 2014 fatal police shooting of Michael Brown, a Black teenager, in Ferguson, Missouri, when a report by a St. Louis-area public defender group found that Black drivers in Ferguson were more likely to be stopped by police and local courts were abusing their power by charging high fines and fees for nonviolent offenses, sometimes leading to arrests when they went unpaid. Erik Ortiz is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital focusing on racial injustice and social inequality. Read more stories from our Banking on Crime series: If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. He said response times were long because Brookside often had to rely on the Jefferson County Sheriffs department for service. A court worker told her she would have to plead guilty or go to driving school. This is the statement from the Town of Brookside: Mike Jones resigned as the Police Chief for the Town of Brookside. Find Brookside residential property records including property owners, sales & transfer history, deeds & titles, property taxes, valuations, land, zoning records & more. The town of Brookside, Alabama holds municipal court once a month. In a statement, Brookside City Attorney Mark Parnell said that as the local prosecutor, he has "strived to ensure" only police charges with merit moved forward or were otherwise dismissed. Starting on Page 3 of the report Simon wrote, Our analysis of Brooksides traffic citations did not produce strong statistical evidence of racial profiling in traffic stops. Find Arrest Records, Police Records, and Warrants related to Brookside Police Department. The officer said We have had people stop and record us, she said, like it explained his actions.. Third, police leadership and individual officers would likely benefit from training focused not only on racial profiling, but also on overall traffic enforcement strategy. People stand in line, waiting to get into the courtroom. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). She thought the complaint was long forgotten or closed. I know that.. This is at the corner of Roberta Road and Mulberry Road, which is far away from their city limits.. Savelle was given pre-trial release, but Shelby County Community Corrections asked a judge a few weeks later to revoke Savelles bond when he willfully failed to comply with the conditions by failing to pay fees for drug screening, failing three alcohol tests and failing to show up for drug tests, court records show. She called for the second town hall meeting this week.. Givan and Jefferson County Sheriff Mark Pettway held the first town hall, in which 200 people gathered and 31 told stories of harassment and abuse. State agencies have since launched audits and investigations of police there, and officials such as Alabama Lt. Gov. Those charges include possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, according to state records. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Covington County's affidavit for a warrant to arrest former Brookside police chief Mike Jones. Mayor Mike Bryan late Wednesday said there was no conspiracy, The Town has just been made aware of this amended lawsuit, Bryan told AL.com. Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. Pettway also said issues with Brookside could draw the attention of the federal government. Brookside is a poor town, 70% white, 21% Black, with a small but growing Hispanic population and a median income well below the state average. Brookside State: Alabama Zip Code: 35036-2000 County: Jefferson County Phone #: 205-674-9275 Fax #: 205-674-9547. In a sworn deposition in the civil suit Jeff Brumlow said he went to court three times before the case was ultimately dropped, and saw many people hed guess 25 to 30% of all defendants charged with the dubious left lane violation. Hall did appeal, and a Jefferson County judge ultimately dismissed the charges. There are only 1,253 people in Brookside, and one store, the Dollar General. The man is still afraid of retaliation, and asked for anonymity. He reported that his Police Chief was mad.. I was working that night and I received a phone call from the Hoover police chief, she said. Yet that is hard to swallow for those who line up for court and face financial ruin because of citations. Leadership at every level of government is required to make our cities and towns safer. Address, Phone Number, and Fax Number for Brookside Police Department, a Police Department, at Main Street, Brookside AL. Minnifield says he was a passenger in car stopped for driving with an improper tag, and that he was detained, among other things. I dont condone it, but you know, Im not the chief out there.. Disparities in the rate at which drivers were stopped do not appear to be significantly different from the rate in which drivers racial and ethnic groups populate 4 Jefferson County. The deputy gave him a professional courtesy verbal warning and sent him on his way. Oftentimes, a person's decision to forgo paying a fine goes deeper, Sarathy Jones said. In 2020, she had explained her case this way to the AGs office: The person threatened me with an arrest if I did not take down my Facebook pictures and posts of their police officers, stop sending emails to the local politicians, as well as others, and show them (Brookside police) that I understand law enforcement practices.. It showed that total arrests custodial, misdemeanor and felony rose 1,109% from 2018 to 2020. We respect the process and its outcomes., Montague Minnifield talks passionately about his experience with Brookside Police. Drivers, both in responding to the stories and in a town hall held last week to address police and court concerns, have complained of bullying, intimidation, detention, retribution, threats, racial profiling, and charges made up of whole cloth to stack fines on drivers, among other things. We will be reviewing the details of the allegations with the Towns legal counsel. Brookside Police did patrol the 1.5-mile stretch of Interstate 22 within their jurisdiction and wrote tickets that brought in $82,467 in fines. I was scared to death even though I was doing nothing wrong.. Find 12 external resources related to Brookside Police Department. The next day she spoke to the husband of the woman who complained to Hoover police. Jones said crime when he took over was higher than it appeared from numbers the town reported to the state. Brookside until recently was known for its quirky Russian food festival and the states only onion-domed Russian Orthodox Church. What I had watched in court with the use of this particular charge, I mean, just to be quite frank, it offended me that a court would act that way and that a city would act that way toward people who really dont have that kind of money, he testified. Read more stories from our Banking on Crime series: Updated 10/10/22 to say the woman accosted at Dave & Busters did wish to press charges. The courtroom and the parking lot are packed with people. Mayor Bryan dismissed the complaints of those who must appear in court. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. The resignation follows an investigative report by al.com. after AL.coms original report on Brookside. Alabama state rep. calls for Brookside mayor's resignation amid ticketing scandal, told the NBC affiliate WVTM in Birmingham, wake of the 2014 fatal police shooting of Michael Brown, Attorney describes 'debtors' prison' scheme targeting poor minorities. The police have ordered vehicles towed for lack of insurance, while ignoring owners' efforts to show insurance documentation. Franklin said she believes the only reason she wasnt arrested was because she works for Jefferson County. Even the claims of retaliation for social media posts are not unusual in Brookside. The lowest-paid officers made $12 an hour. "The Town of Brookside is committed to reforming our police department and setting a new standard for community policing in Brookside and Alabama," says Bryan. Brookside is the "the wild, Wild West," one state lawmaker said after its income from traffic fines and forfeitures reportedly rose 640 percent in 2 years. It is what happened after the stop that is most concerning to him. Mike Jones, former police chief in the troubled Alabama town of Brookside, was arrested today on felony charges of impersonating a peace officer during a traffic stop in south Alabama.. Stories of how Alabama legal systems criminalize poverty. But in 2018 it began building a police empire, hiring more and more officers to blanket its six miles of roads and mile-and-a-half jurisdiction on Interstate 22. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Walker told the judge he will fight the charge. I have never been in any trouble only had one speeding ticket. (Joe Songer for AL.com).Joe Songer. A manager at Dave & Busters in Hoover in 2019 called police on a man named James Bo Savelle III. 205-674-9275. she added. Police stacked fines on them, often towed their cars and generated revenue that went right back into the police department. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). All Rights Reserved. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Still, police seized his car, and refused to return it, though they didnt begin official forfeiture proceedings. August 18, 2015 Aerial Videography of Brookside, Alabama Trails Five Mile Creek on the Alabama Birding Trail September 24, 2014 Brookside walkng trail has been added to the Appalchian Highlands Birding Trail web site! "Even if you legitimately stop someone because they need a light on their car fixed, if you give them a ticket, how does that meet the goal that a person's car be made safer?" Brookside Police Department. Brookside has 1,253 people, according to the most recent census. She is unsure if he called the man. Asked why that was the case, Bryan responded there had been an error, that the heading for the Municipal Court Fund was actually the police department budget. Brookside police officers in sworn depositions indicated they did not follow drivers for a full mile and a half before or after the new law was passed, and they continued to write tickets under the old law after the new road rage bill passed. Jones built Brooksides police department from a sleepy, one-man agency to an intimidating force of 14 between 2018 and this year. The conclusion reads: We conclude our report by recommending that new Brookside Police Department leadership adopt specific policies aimed at targeting its law enforcement efforts in more strategic ways. He resigned as chief of the Brookside department last week, days after AL.coms original report on Brookside. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. In addition, she said, counting on fines and fees collected from people in lower income and marginalized communities only serves to punish them further. State Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, who represents the area surrounding Brookside, has called for the resignation of Bryan, Municipal Judge Jim Wooten and City Attorney/Prosecutor Mark Parnell. The complaint seeks to establish four classes of people who were stopped and extorted by the town of Brookside, Jetts Towing Co. or the officers. Michelle Jones said she has had friends, acquaintances and family members stopped in Brookside. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. McDonald, the towns first dispatcher, said he too found Bryans statement lacking. Most of the vehicles Brookside Police drive are unmarked, and tinted. The police departments Facebook page it claims more than a million visitors became a vehicle for public shaming with embarrassing mugshots and derision for those who owe fines and fees Turn yourself in. By 2020 officers in the sleepy town were undergoing SWAT training and dressing in riot gear, even as the city continued with only a volunteer fire department. She argued that she only drove in the left lane to pass other vehicles, and her ticket on May 26, 2019 came five months before Alabamas Anti-Road Rage Act, a law making it illegal to drive in the left lane of an interstate for more than a mile and a half, went into effect. It has had a continued practice of stopping and ticketing scores of vehicles daily, doing so without probable cause or reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing.. Sheriff Pettway gaped at the Brookside ratio. The officers, though many, were not well paid. Perez is Hispanic, and his passenger was a Brookside resident, also Hispanic, who didnt have her purse with her, Perez said. It is the second time in four days a former Brookside police officer has been jailed. Traffic tickets, and criminalizing those who passed through, became the citys leading industry. she said. People stopped by Brookside police more than a mile and half outside the town limits. The accounts of drivers dozens of them are strikingly similar. The officer said he would take them both to jail because she didnt have her ID. At least eight officers, including Jones, have resigned or been let go since. One, by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur would force cities to make the amount of fines and fees they collect public. 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